This disclosure relates in general to the field of information handling systems, and more particularly to a rack mountable docking station.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As information handling system users"" computing and processing needs increase, the information handling systems require greater processing capabilities, flexibility, and serviceability. To satisfy the increased processing requirements, consumers and businesses have turned to utilizing numerous information handling systems such as servers. The servers are typically mounted in a standardized server rack structure allowing for numerous servers that do not occupy a large amount of floor-space. Conventional rack-mounted U-sized servers (a U is a standard unit of measure for designating the height in computer enclosures and rack cabinets where 1U equals 1.75 inches) typically range in size from 1U to 7U and the server rack structures typically measure 42U and can accommodate a combination of various U-sized servers. The servers are mounted on sliding guides within the server rack structure that allow for the servers to slide in and out of the server rack structure for installation and servicing.
When a rack mountable server is installed in a server rack structure, numerous cables must be connected to the rear of the server so that the server can function correctly and communicate with other systems. These cables include power cords, video cables, keyboard and mouse cables, SCSI cables, USB cables, networking cables, and any other appropriate type of cabling required for server operation. Typically when the cables are connected to the rack mounted servers, the length of the cables is long enough to allow the servers to slide out of the server rack structure, but not be removed, without disconnecting any of the cables attached to the rear of the servers. Given that a typical server rack structure is approximately three feet deep, such excess cable lengths allowances create an excess of three feet per cable per server when the server is completely installed within the server rack structure. The excess cabling creates cable disorder especially when considering a 42U server rack structure having forty-two 1U servers installed. Even with only each server having only five cables, there are 210 cables at the rear of the server rack structure and over 600 feet of excess cable.
Furthermore, with each server requiring more than one data cable, the installation and removal of a server from the server rack structure is an arduous and time consuming task. In order to completely remove the server from the server rack structure, all the data cables must be disconnected from the rear of the server and stored behind the server rack structure. And if a service technician is removing more than one server from the server rack structure, the data cables must be marked or grouped so that the service technician will be able to correctly reattach the data cables to the correct servers and the correct ports on the servers when reinstalling the servers into the server rack structure. Furthermore, having to disconnect and reattach the data cables from the server when removing the server from the server rack structure creates a disincentive to removing the servers once the servers are installed whether the servers need to be removed for servicing or just to optimize space in the server rack structure. In addition, if the disconnection and reattachment of the data cables to the servers is done incorrectly and quickly without the proper attention to detail, the servers may not function correctly and experience errors that may not be easily diagnosed as data cable connection errors.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a system that simplifies the installation and removal of a computing component from a rack structure.
A further need has arisen for a system that allows a computing component to be installed and removed from a rack structure without connecting or disconnecting data cables from the computing component.
In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, an information handling system and docking station are described which substantially eliminate or reduce disadvantages with previous systems and methods. A rack mountable docking station allows for one or more computing components to be installed or removed from a rack structure without disconnecting or attaching one or more data cables.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an information handling system is provided. The information handling system includes a computing component having a component housing and at least one connector plug on a rear face of the computing component. A rack structure releasably maintains at least one of the computing components and includes a first railing and a second railing, the first and second railing coupled to a rear section of the rack structure. A docking station including a front face and a rear face is disposed between the first railing and the second railing and horizontally slides along the first and second railings. The docking station further includes one or more data ports and at least one connector port. The data ports are located on the rear face and couple with one or more data cables. The connector port is located on the front face of the docking station and couples with the connector plug on the computing component allowing the one or more data cables to communicatively couple with the computing component.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a rack mountable docking station is disclosed. The docking station includes a housing having a front face and a rear face. The housing is disposed between a first railing and a second railing with the front face slidably coupled to the first railing and the rear face slidably coupled to the second railing. The docking station further includes a connector port on the front face and one or more data ports on the rear face. The data ports couple with one or more data cables while the connector port couples with a connector plug on a rack mountable computing component such that the data cables are in communication with the rack mountable computing component.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a server docking station is disclosed. The server docking station includes a housing disposed in a rear section of a server rack. The housing includes a front face and a rear face where the front face includes a connector port and the rear face includes one or more data ports. The data ports couple with one or more data cables while the connector port couples with a connector plug on a server thereby allowing the data cables to communicate with the server.
The present disclosure provides a number of important technical advantages. One important technical advantage is the installation and removal of computing components from the rack structure without requiring the disconnection and reattachment of the data cables. The connector port on the docking station and the connector plug on the computing component allow the computing component to move in and out of the rack structure without disconnecting the data cables. With a typical computing component in a rack structure, the data cables connect directly to the computing component. But in the present disclosure, the data cables connect to the data ports of the docking station and the data from the data cables is communicated from the data ports to the connector port to the connector plug of the computing component. The computing component only directly interfaces with the connector port of the docking station and does not need to directly interface with the data cables. Therefore, in order to remove the computing component from the rack structure, a user only needs to remove the computing component from the connector port and the data cables remain connected to the data ports on the docking station and do not have to be disconnected. In addition, service of the computing components requires less time because the service technician does not have to take the time to disconnect and then reattach the data cables when servicing and does not have to worry about marking or labeling the data cables in order to insure that the data cables are reattached correctly.
Another important technical advantage of the present disclosure is the simplification of the installation and removal of the computing component within the rack structure. Because the computing component only interfaces with the connector port of the docking station, moving the computing component within the rack structure along the guides requires only disconnecting the connector plug from the connector port. Because the data cables are not directly connected to the computing component, the data cables do not require the extra three feet of length necessary on typical server rack structures to accommodate for sliding the computing component within the rack structure. Therefore when the computing components are installed in the rack structure, there is not the extra three feet of data cables at the rear of the rack structure making it difficult the locations of the cables. Furthermore, the docking station can be installed into most existing server rack structures and implemented with most rack mount server platforms.